


False start

by Jinglies



Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Body Image, Family Drama, Hard to avoid when your magic grandpa won't stop acting up, M/M, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26728258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinglies/pseuds/Jinglies
Summary: After so much stress, anguish and the amount of directions they were getting pulled.They're now married - twice over.But the stress an anguish is important to acknowledge too.Snapshots of pre-elopment very vague wedding planning that never went all the way through.
Relationships: Teddy Altman/Billy Kaplan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	False start

**Author's Note:**

> I'd been working on wedding fics for years but I never finished one - and then they went ahead and got eloped!
> 
> Maybe they've been working on weddings for years to and never finished one - here's a few little bits of that.

Billy had decided, _very_ early in his engagement that _marriage_ did not scare him. At all.

Teddy was perfect. Kind, honest, giving, strong, beautiful, funny, sweet, and so incredible it was nearly unbelievable. 

The actual living until he died with Teddy, maybe having a couple kids sounded great!

But boy, were _weddings_ **rough**. 

He was sitting there, holding the proofs of actual paper invitations that he had been assured he _just needed_.

The pretty blue that reminded him of Teddy's eyes when he'd sat down with his Mom and Kate to set the design now just looked like a rough, puke-inducing ocean. 

The embossing felt smooth under his fingers but -

"Did they spell my name wrong again?" Teddy asked, leaning over Billy's shoulder - kissing his cheek before reading. " Looks, find dude - Theodore Rufus Dorrek Altman ...V-I-I-I, yep it's all there."

Billy shrugged. 

He leaned into Teddy's neck and sighed. 

"What's up?" Teddy asked, bringing his arms up around Billy's chest. "Is a book character having a difficulty?" 

Billy snorted. 

"Spill it, B." 

"I'm just kinda, drained you know?" He said, grabbing Teddy's arms to pull him closer. "I just want this whole thing to be over already..."

Teddy nodded and kissed Billy's head again. 

"Engaged for years and _now_ you want to elope?" 

"Not..elope yet just, stop for a second." Billy huffed, "But no, everyone just has so many thoughts and opinions about _every single thing_."

Teddy hummed. 

"They keep asking me my opinion but then I see them so excited about whatever thing they clearly want me to OK and it's - "

He swayed a little side to side, huffing.

"You know darn well that they'll back off if you say something, B."

Billy groaned, screwed his eyes shut and groaned again. 

"But they're so _excited_."

Teddy shook his head as Billy rubbed his face into Teddy's forearms. 

"Do you want _me_ to tell Katie to book the wedding planner so you don't have to hear her be unbearable until you see her next?"

Billy shook his head.

"Should I turn the bath on?"

Billy nodded.

"You want me to go order some dumplings you can eat in the bathtub?"

Billy nodded. 

"Thanks, dude." He said, letting Teddy half pick him up off the couch. "You're the best." 

\--

William Kaplan is Jewish. Very Jewish. He's got two Moms and they're both Jewish. Very Jewish. 

Clearly the whole thing should be two Jewish Moms levels of Jewish. 

Then he thinks of Teddy. 

Even in a Hollywood Non-Specific Denomination Of Inoffensive Christian sort of way he doesn't have the family to fill out the venue for a big wedding. 

He's got 2 _Dead_ Moms!

He knows no one would make a fuss. No one would judge him - it's not his fault. 

But he can already see the _'No I'm Fine, Don't Worry'_ not-crying but totally crying face Teddy would make as he tried his hardest to go through pitying looks from well-meaning aunts and cousins all evening.

He _needs_ to be represented. He _needs_ to belong because he _does._

"Maybe Momda was right," Teddy started, scrolling through their eleventh interfaith wedding Pinterest board of the night. "We're going to have to do that thing with the head crystal and Immortus."

"I'm not fighting Dormammu so we can marry trees or whatever."

"We'll _never_ be groovy, B, and it'll be all your fault." 

Teddy crossed his arms and managed a huffy scowl for all of 2 seconds before he cracked up giggling.

"Come on, man, we have to pick something - one, a mix of both - _ANYTHING_!" Billy said, sitting down with a hard fwump on the bed beside Teddy. 

"I don't know, dude, like, I don't know how to get onto the space internet but I'm sure some kind of Kree bullshit would make me hold the sword the whole time, I'd get a cramp." 

Billy blinked. 

"Tedward Altman the Eighth I saw you hold a _full_ refrigerator for 3 hours when we helped Tommy move." 

"Well I was just all greened out you know, it was easier." 

"You're... _not_ going to be all ' _greened out'_ \- " Air quotes " -at the ceremony?" Billy asked, catching Teddy's eyes away from the screen. 

"No?" He replied. "Isn't that like, really obvious?"

Billy shook his head. 

"I mean come on, B, everyone we know will be there I don't want to be huge and green in the photos... _our kids_ are going to see those some day..." 

"And shouldn't their large green dad be himself in those photos?" Billy asked, sitting up straight. "They're going to ask me who was in my wedding photos where was Big Dad."

"I don't want to stand there in front of God, Thor and everybody looking like a big sick crab." 

Billy shook his head. 

"It's your choice, T, but I like my big sick crab, he's gorgeous..." 

Teddy nodded, shoulders relaxing into the pillows again. 

"I'll think about it..." 

Billy leaned into Teddy, grabbing a handful of t-shirt to pull himself closer. 

"How have we talked about kids - " Teddy said, bringing his free-hand around Billy's shoulders. 

"But not this?" Billy finished, laughing a little. 

"Priorities in the right place I guess" 

\--

Every single fear Teddy from age seven through seventeen came slamming back into his brain. 

The tailor pinched fabric at the back of his shirt, released it and pinched it again. 

He pinched in two places now. 

The fabric was stretching awkwardly over his frame and it was making him sweat.

A pin scraped against his shirt and even seeing Billy stand there in his boxers holding ties up to his neck couldn't shake his visceral discomfort from turning his guts as he was forced to stare down at himself from 5 angles each more unflattering than the last.

He'd settled on peachy, 2XL at Target Teddy - it wasn't his default setting like Big n' Green but that was his choice. 

Plus, way easier to explain to guests when they hung their wedding photos up in the hallway - and the one he'd put in his wallet and probably make his Facebook picture for the next 32 years until their first kid graduates super-duper future free-tuition space-college.

Teddy sucked in air and smoothed over his stomach again. 

"Don't touch it while I'm pinning." The tailor said in a bored huff, "unless you _want_ to look like a pillowcase in a dinner jacket."

Teddy snorted a laugh. 

Billy laughed a little, holding up ties from the rack across the room. 

"William Kaplan would you put your damn pants back on." Kate said, snatching the paisley tie from his hand. 

"The sewing machine man took them," Billy said, trying to snatch the paisley back but getting dodge. "I can't." 

Teddy smiled. 

"You're not wearing Paisley - Janet Van Dyne is _probably_ going to be at this wedding do you know what that means?" Kate said, throwing the tie across the store.

"My Mom's gonna embarrass me at the reception?" Billy asked with a smile. 

Teddy let the Tailor move his legs again. 

"You're a very well built young man, I must say, " he said, pulling at the fabric between Teddy's shoulders. "Sturdy." 

Teddy felt his face heat. 

"Sorry." 

Teddy could see his own pained expression as his eyes met Billy's over the Tailor's head in the mirror

He got a wry smile in response. 

"Do you want me to try and find you a venue next?" Kate asked, pushing Billy's jeans into his hands. "Seriously, just give me _any_ hint of where you want the wedding to be and I'll get it for you." 

Billy shook his head. 

She put her hands up in surrender as Billy hopped into his pants, bumping a couple coats on hangers.

\--

"So?" Teddy asked, sitting back in his chair. "Yes or no?" 

Billy's frown deepened. 

"I don't know."

He looked over the list again, both _pros_ and _cons_ were nearly equal.

"I mean, he's a busy guy, we shouldn't spring it on him last minute" Teddy said, in an attempt to be helpful. 

"That's on the cons list!" Billy said, pointing at the notepad. 

"It's really just a neutral point though..." Teddy said, crossing his arms and looking thoughtfully at the closed curtains. 

"I think I need a second opinion..." Billy said.

He got a _look_ in return. 

" _THIRD_ opinion." 

"I'm just not sure many people are gonna be hot on us inviting Magneto to our wedding." Teddy said, shrugging his crossed arms. 

"That's _also_ on the cons list." 

Billy jabbed at the paper with the pen, creating a wrinkle in the paper that tore right through it. 

"Alright, B, we don't need to figure this out any time soon." Tedding said, putting his hand on the tensest part of Billy's back. "Take a breather." 

"I'm getting in my head over this." Billy said starkly, dragging his hands over his face. 

"Yeah..." 

"I feel like not inviting him is like not inviting Maleficent to the princess' birthday and he'll turn around and curse our firstborn."

"Oh come on now honey, he doesn't have magic curse powers." Teddy said, pulling Billy into his lap. "Just...so long as our kids aren't made of metal, they'll be safe." 

"Heaven forbid one of them needs braces then." Billy said, hands covering Teddy's as he was squeezed. 

"We'll just table this for another day, no rush." 

"Right." Billy said with a long breath out. "No rush." 


End file.
